I went to Selfridge Air National Guard Base to see the air show. The sights included The Moving Wall and various Vietnam displays. I was walking through one of the POW/MIA exhibits and there was a Missing Man Table. I never saw one before. It was so sad.

I saved the handout:

Moderator:

As you entered the dining area, you may have noticed a table at the front, raised to call your attention to its purpose -- it is reserved to honor our missing loved comrades.

Set for six, the empty places represent our men missing from each of the five services - Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard - and civilians. This Honors Ceremony symbolizes that they are with us, here in spirit.

Some here today/tonight were very young when the Vietnam War began; however, all Americans should never forget our brave men and women who answered our nation's call and served the cause of freedom in a special way.

As the Honor Guard places one of the five service covers or a civilian cap on each empty plate, I would like to ask you to consider their sacrifices, followed by a moment of silent prayer.

Honor Guard:

(In silence or with dignified, reverent music as background, the Honor Guard moves into position around the table and simultaneously places one of the service covers, of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, or a civilian hat, on each empty dinner plate at each table setting. The Honor Guard then departs.)

Moderator:

Please be seated…..I would like to explain the meaning of the items on this special table.

The table is round - to show our everlasting concern for our men still missing.

The cloth is white - symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, awaiting answers.

The vase is tied with a red ribbon, symbol of our continued determination to account for our missing.

A slice of lemon on the bread plate is to remind us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.

A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by those missing and their families who seek answers.

The Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded as one nation under God.

The glass is inverted - to symbolize their inability to share this evening's toast.

The chairs are empty - they are missing.

Let us now raise our water glasses in a toast to honor America's POW/MIA's and to the success of our efforts to account for them.

Have you seen this before?

The Marine Corps has an old tradition that is somewhat similar. It is meant to honor those Marines that have passed away. Even some Marines might not know the significance of the rose and glass, or the empty table setting at a mess night, because they aren't really documented traditions that you would find in a manual or anything.

There is a poem though:


The Marines have an old tradition,
Believed to be Corps wide.
It's one that salutes our brothers
Who've passed to the other side.
A single rose by a turned down glass
Resides at the table's end...
A tiny bit of nostalgia,
And a tribute to absent friends.
Each in his turn will look that way,
Each with his cup abrim,
Each will remember a fellow Marine
With "there's Tommy or Frank or Jim".
There are those whose name escape us,
And those we can't recall;
Long history dims identity,
But we drink to them one and all.
When my earthly life is over,
And to the tables end I pass,
Future Marines will remember,
And turn down an empty glass'

Author unknown

Wow! That is beautiful.